An Australian priest living in New Bedford, MA sent Blithewold’s executive director a poem and she encouraged me to share it. Fr. Sharbel said he was inspired to write this (as yet untitled) poem titled “Deight” after walking around Blithewold with a friend this summer:

Seeds planted long ago

Have now become a splendid show,

That bring delight to the heart

As each in order play their part.

As one strolls beneath the trees

In summer’s air become a breeze,

One feels a calm and peace of soul

Our stories are in whispers told.

Each path is followed with delight

For at each turn is found a sight,

Of colors in their varied shades

New in light that grows and fades.

Here we learn to take our time

And watch the years make better wine,

As from the beautiful, we here drink deep,

May we within thanksgiving keep.

-by Fr. Sharbel Francis Mary

Isn’t it lovely? I think he must have had a nice visit…

Yesterday, the Deadheads removed more of summer’s veneer in the Display Garden and started to *think spring* by planting tulips in the cutting beds. It seems like we gardeners spend a lot of time casting ahead to the future. We plan and scheme and envision seasons to come while being totally up to our elbows in the here and now. It’s no wonder we get exhausted. I love the digging, rearranging, tidying, and putting to bed of fall but have trouble switching gears to plan for the colors of spring! Spring is too soft and pastel for me now with fall in my face (sneeze-o-matic ragweed must be still blooming in the unseasonable warmth). Fall’s colors seem deeper, earthier, and maybe it’s the light but they seem more electric. Neon tree colors are driving me to distraction (and nearly off the road). I love the rudeness of fall too – it’s like a little kid throwing blustery tantrums and telling really juvenile jokes. Working in the North Garden last week a peculiar odor reached for my nose and I found this shocking thing (right) the size of my pointer finger in the otherwise demur and still pretty garden. Stinkhorn fungi (Mutinus elegans) can be found in bark mulch or really rich soil.

I hope summer visitors like Fr. Sharbel come back to Blithewold to see the “splendid show” (and off-color comedy revue) of fall, all the “colors in their varied shades” of winter and “the beautiful” this coming spring. Meanwhile I’m going to take “each [season] in order” and even if I have to cast ahead a bit to another, I’ll remember to delight in (laugh at) the now.

Do you remember the 1970′s? I have hazy orange and brown memories of fads like macrame, yoga, clogs, avocado colored kitchen appliances, silk-screened monochrome bull’s-eye wallhangings, and houseplant jungles. What goes around comes around. For some, bell bottoms and backyard vegetable gardens never went out of style. Others of us rediscover trends and treasures when the time is right. I don’t know who decided that enough time had passed (was it Martha Stewart?) but terrariums are all the rage again. I think they’re so cool I have to wonder why they ever went out of style in the first place. And I have to admit that I’ve gone a little nuts. Some people put up jars of tomato sauce. I put up jars of mini indoor gardens.

Ingredients: clear glass jar (water bottle, fish bowl, jam jar, brandy snifter…) or a wardian case (looks like a mini greenhouse), fish gravel for drainage, fish tank charcoal (activated carbon) for purity, moistened soil (one part compost to 2 or 3 parts potting mix), any landscape elements you like (rocks, tiny houses, plastic dinosaurs…) and plants that love warm, humid conditions. — Indoor winter heat is tough on some plants. I had a little eyelash begonia that was a gasp away from death and when I put its last nubbin in a mason jar, it immediately decided to thrive. Look around and see what needs rescue. And go shopping! Some of your local nurseries stock perfect terrarium plants (we go to Peckham’s Greenhouse in Little Compton, RI) and there are plenty of mail order places too (such as Logee’s and Kartuz)

Place a layer of gravel, lightly topped with a layer of charcoal in the bottom of a clean container. The depth of this layer depends on the size of the container and should probably be 1/2″ to and 1″ for decent drainage.

Thickness of the soil layer also depends on the size of the container. It should be deep enough to hold the roots of your plants while not taking up more than the bottom third (including drainage layer) of your container. Terrariums are all about balance. Plants take in water and transpire it out. In a perfect little world, they essentially water themselves. I’ve gone for months without having to water some of my jars! When you choose and plant your babies, make sure they don’t take up any more than half of the air space in the jar. Plants that grow by leaps and bounds should be tended regularly and clipped back so they don’t strangle themselves or their neighbors. And fertilizing is a definite no-no — it wrecks the balance and plants grow too quickly.

Water your plants in just a little to make sure the soil around their roots isn’t full of air pockets and cover the jar (poke holes or leave the lid a tiny bit open for fresh air transfer), and place it in a bright but no-full-sun spot. You should be able to see the transpiration almost immediately as fog on the glass. If your terrarium ever gets so foggy that you can’t see the plants, uncover it for a while (and think about whether the plants need a trim).

Once you start making terrariums, it might be hard to stop! (or is it just me?)

Can everyday be Action Day? There are bandwagons all over the place that I want to jump on. Here is a post about the three R’s (reduce, reuse, recycle) that reminded me to rave that Fred and Dan, Blithewold’s groundsmen are expert at Reusing/Recycling. They took sills from the old greenhouse when it was renovated and rather than hauling it to a scrapyard, they re-invented it as a bed edge and grass stair risers. Sometimes with a wide open to the possibilities imagination, a useless cast-off can be rescued from the landfill and transformed into the perfect solution!
This morning I found a sidetrack bandwagon in this (otherwise really interesting) post. I’ve been on a (passive) lookout for an alternative to the soilless potting mix that we use in the greenhouse. Most (all?) potting mixes are made with peat which is not a renewable resource. It also bears mentioning that peat harvests are killing precious bogs and I don’t want to be a party to bog death. I perked right up at the mention of coconut coir in this post and did just a little searching and found that it’s available by the brick and bale. I’m curious now – has anyone has used it either in or as a potting medium? What’s your source? Did you and your plants like it? Do you have any other peat-free potting medium recommendations? Enquiring gardeners want to know!

And if everyday is action day (sometimes action is not about Activism…) the volunteers have had a couple very active days! Here’s a before and after of the Cutting Bed – note that Gail and I have allowed the Asclepias physocarpa ‘Oscar’ (a.k.a. Hairy balls) to live on for the time being!… Next week we’ll be planting tulips.

And the Fairies have been pretty active too. The fairy family at 4 Dust Ave. has acquired some overstuffed furniture! Looks like they’re still working out how to get it up the stairs and down the hall…